Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are becoming more prevalent in modern warfare. In addition to land-based launches of UAVs, water-based UAV launches are desirable in many operational scenarios. However, the general instability of the water environment makes successful water-based UAV launches difficult to achieve. As an example, due to wave turbulence, many UAVs are unable to be launched at an angle that allows the UAV to readily transition to flight, resulting in the UAV being lost to the water environment. A need exists for a water-based system that can successfully and reliably launch a UAV.